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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. ground — crushed
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. content — happy
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ground — a position
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. content — the amount
  16. band — a music group
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tear — from crying
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wound — an injury
  24. band — a ring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com